Need your advice. I'm sorry but I'm no MB expert or even a car expert. I have this BM 1988 300E (estimated 200K miles - the counter stopped many years ago when it was 130K). I inherited this from my father then drove this from NY to Dallas in 20hrs without any problem and it was a pleasant drive. I am thinking of either selling it or maintaining it ( I would prefer maintain and improve it). This is the present condition:

Drive:
Drive is still very good and stable. The idling may need some work because somtimes it's too high and sometimes too low. I really enjoy driving this car but I feel it needs a major tune up to make it a perfect drive

Interior:
Leather seats and carpet in good condition. Everything is still good. Power roof/windows/seats are still working fine even for a 18yr old car!

Exterior:
Dark blue (I guess this is the original color), 2 obvious dents and maybe 10small dents. A 2x4 rust in the driver side door.. The gray bumpers are good too but there are so many scratches.

Engine:
Engine is good. Barely used this car because my kids prefer my primary car, a Pacifica 05. Brakes may need some work. Idling is unstable, sometimes too high and sometimes too low. Engine might need some cleaning. Quite dirty and some rusts on the engine. Other than that, I think it's in a pretty good condition.

Others:
Everything mechanical is ok. Everything is still original except for the radio but the speakers are still factory models.

WHAT TO DO:
If I will keep this, I wanted it painted black, fix the chassis dents/dings, piant the bumpers, replace the door handles with chromed handles, major tune up on the engine. How much would you think this will cost me? Just an estimate? Is this worth keeping and maintaining? Based on what I read especially from enthusiasts, this is really a nice car. I saw that this was one of 20 great cars in the last 20yrs by autombilemag.com.

If it is not a money pit and still runs decent just drive it. It is still a very solid and safe car, and what would you replace it with? On the market it won't bring more than $1500 to $2000 I would think.